


One Last Drink Before The Day Breaks

by KingdomQueen



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drunkenness, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Stolen Moments, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-20
Updated: 2013-06-20
Packaged: 2017-12-15 13:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/849876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingdomQueen/pseuds/KingdomQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alcohol makes everything better. Damon knows that for certain. But Alaric Saltzman reminds Damon of the man he used to be, and the future he's never been brave enough to try for. </p><p>That's sure as hell something he shouldn't mix with alcohol. </p><p>Oops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Last Drink Before The Day Breaks

            Alaric stumbles into his apartment on shaky legs, and manages to stuff his keys into his back pocket. He reaches out and leans against the closest solid object, giving the room a few seconds to stop spinning. 

      After a moment he kicks backwards, trying to shut the door behind him.

       "Watch the goods!” Damon growls out as he side steps Alaric's kick.

        Alaric just blinks. 

        “Damon? What? What are you doing here? I left you at the bar.”

       “Obviously not, Saltzman. How do you think you got home? You’re completely wasted.”

       Damon probably would have kept gloating, but he somehow manages to trip into the doorframe.

       “Join the club,” Alaric mumbles as he staggeres towards the couch. Damon watches the human go, enjoying the sight of the prim and proper Alaric stumbling around. He didn't think the human ever really let go  

        “So what? I’m a little drunk. You’re a little drunk. We’re a little drunk. How often do we actually go out and get drunk?”

         Alaric finally makes it to the couch and sinks into it.            

         “You? Every day.”

           Damon huffs.

          Just like Alaric to split hairs.

          “You’re such a party pooper.” Damon rubs a hand down his face and heads into Alaric’s tiny little kitchen. He riffles around through the practically empty cabinets for a few moments, managing to knock a few items on to the floor before finding his prize.

           “Ah ha!”

          “Ah ha? What 'ah ha'? No 'ah ha's in my apartment!"

          Turns out Alaric can't do his strict teacher voice when he's this drunk. 

         Pity. Damon kinda likes the voice. 

            “I just found a friend of mine.” The bottle of whiskey is almost completely full. A Christmas miracle.

            Now he just has to make it back to the couch without falling on his face.

           “Wait. That’s not mine," Alaric points stupidly at the bottle clutched against Damon's chest.

        “Nope, ” Damon replied as he practically falls on to Alaric and the couch. “And this baby is all mine. None for you and your sad human liver.” He pokes Alaric in the abdomen a few times before Alaric manages to knock his hand away. 

        “Stop that, and why’s are you hiding booze in my kitchen?”

         “Oh, I think the real question…” Damon takes a gulp straight from the bottle and gives an ah of pleasure “is what else do I have hidden in your apartment?” He adds an eye brow waggle for emphasis, but Alaric just rolls his eyes.  

         “That…that actually makes me less creeped out then it should," Alaric replies.

        “Awww… you’re so sweet.”

        “Maybe I’m just getting used to you.”

            “See, I knew I’d rub off on someone sometime. Can't be hated forever. ”

            Damon grins that cheshire grin and for once Alaric follows suit.

          “You know what?” Alaric suddenly shifts around in his seat, trying to turn towards Damon, but managing to only make a mess of it for a few minutes.  “You know what, Damon?" He says when he's finally situated inches from Damon's face. "Do you know what? You’re not so bad.”

            “Thank you!” Damon raises his bottle in mock salute to Alaric's words and ignored the warmth in his chest that's suddenly sprung up. “That’s what I keep telling people.”

            “No. Mostly Elena. You keep telling Elena." 

            “And you… I tell you too.”

            “Every damn day.”

            “And now look at us.” Damon waves the bottle around, managing to slosh a little from the rim.

            “Right. Best of friends. You make me get drunk and then we go back to my place.” Alaric furrows his brow and sighs. “That sounded wrong.”

            “Oh, Alaric, you’re such a tease." Damon gently knocks his shoulder against the other man. “But really… this is fun. Come on," Damon wheedles.  “Come on! You’re having a good time.”

            “I’m having a good time.” Alaric actually admits.  “For once.”

           Damon mentally gives himself a pat on the back for managing to corrupt the steadfast Alaric Saltzman. It feels good, even  if it it's just getting the other guy to calm down for 30 minutes 

            “You need to just relax more.”

            “Right. Because you’re not always in a pent up fury about something?”

            “Hey, I got reasons. I’m in love with my brother’s girl. I’ve got problems.”

            “Well, you killed my wife.” There is an awkward silence, but Alaric lets out a strange half giggle that Damon has never heard him make before. “But I think you did me a favor.”  

            Damon eyes the other man, then sets his bottle down on the floor. “This’s one fucked up friendship. But you know what? You know what?”

            “What?” Alaric perks his head up slightly.

            “And don’t you ever tell Stefan or Elena. And definitely not that little blonde one who talks too much. She's worse then a town crier." 

            “Or you what? You'll kill me?” Alaric waves his ring in Damon’s face.

            “Yeah. Sorry ‘bout that.” Damon grimaces a little, but Alaric shakes his head.

            “Wow. Two apologies. I’m one lucky guy.”

            “Well,” Then there's a pause a pause, a long pregnant pause that leaves Alaric and Damon both a little uncomfortable. “If I have to say it, you’re my best friend, so you can have _two_ apologizes.”

          Damon waits for the fall out- the half hearted thanks or polite rebuff, but Alaric reaches out a hand and places it on Damon’s shoulder.

            “I am obviously gonna regret this, but you’re my best friend too.”

          Damon is suddenly almost numb, but he forces his face to stay cafefree. It's a mask he knows well  

          They staylike that for a minute, but Alaric eventually lets his hand slip away.

            “We’re not gonna hug or anything are we?” Damon laughs. He always has a way of breaking the mood.

            “No.” Alaric coughs a little and shifts around in his seat. “What we're you trying to say?”

            “Oh! Right. I've just been thinking…” He trails off a little. In the moment of silence he picks the bottle back off the floor and has another drink. God bless liquid courage. “Are you tired of dying all the time yet?

             “Oh. No. I love dying all the time. It's my favorite part about being in this town.”

         Damon ignores the sarcasm

         "I could do something.”  

          “Like not killing me?”

            “No. Like turning a

you into a vampire.”

             Alaric goes stiff. Vampire. The word is held in the air. Suddenly things seem less fun and far more important then Damon realized they would be. 

           “Become a vampire," Alaric repeats lamely. “You wanna turn me into a vampire?”

            “Come on. It’d solve a lot of problems.  More convenient for everyone. And you and me? Best friends. Remember?"

            “You want to turn me into a vampire cause it's convenient?”  Alaric finally laughs, letting Damon relax. Alaric leans in and gives that little seen grin. “You’re a romantic, Damon."

            Damon drinks in the sight of such easy acceptance, Alaric's head leaning close to his own.

            “But I’m serious. We could leave this shit town. I could show you the world. All that Disney bullshit.”  The smell of alcohol and “Alaric” becomes stronger the closer the two of them get. Damon takes a deep lungful of it- favoring.  “It’d be _fun_.”

          “You’d leave Elena? Stefan?”

            “I would… I would...if I could.” There is defeat in his voice and a mixture of self-disgust.

           Damon is trapped, and so is Alaric. Trapped in prisons of their own making. Obligation and love can do that to someone.  

           But, fuck, they can dream, can't they? Surely the world and all the shit it's thrown at them owes them that much?

           “Damon.” The other man is sinking, obviously feeling the same desperate need to pretend that Damon does.

 

            Alaric seems to make some decision because he reaches out with those long fingers and Damon watches with fascinated eyes. 

            He almost feels guilty for how badly he wants Alaric to touch him  

             Finally the fingers settle  on the sides of Damon’s face, the skin wonderfully warm

            “Hell. Maybe.”

            “What?”  Damon pulls away from the outstretched hand, “Don’t mess with me. I asked cause-”

            Alaric cut him off.

“Maybe, one day.”

Besides, what did Alaric have to loose? He had nothing to live for, nothing in his life but Elena and Jeremy.  If he went with Damon- “I’d stay with you.” Alaric knew what it was to fear being alone. He’d wake in the middle of the night, chest constricted with thoughts of something happening to Jeremy or Elena. They were the only ties he had.

That and Damon.

            “Ok.” Damon couldn’t think of anything else to say. With Alaric’s fingers soft against his check, their breath mingling as the world spun around, nothing came to mind.  

            “Damon.” The words came out in a whisper. “This is a bad idea.”

            When had Alaric gotten so close? Damon didn’t know, but the mixture of alcohol and closeness was heady.

            “Hey.” Another half grin. “I’m full of bad ideas.” 

            “True.”

            Alaric slid his hand along Damon’s face and he tugged.  This time, where Alaric led, Damon followed.

            Their lips met slowly and they pressed gently. Neither one knew what was happening or what would happen, but the moment had caught them and they knew better then to let it go. Alaric sighed, or Damon did, neither knew and the kiss deepened.

            In the end, it only lasted a moment. It was a kiss that held so much sadness and promise. But they broke away from each other and looked for a long time into each other’s eyes.

            In that instant, even with the alcohol, they knew that kiss was a one-time thing. It was a brief fluke that left them wanting. Empty.

            “Elena.” Damon murmured. That was enough.

            “Right.” Only a hint of bitterness. “So. You want to stay on the couch tonight? Sober up?”

            Alaric wasn’t certain if he really wanted Damon to stay or not. A small part of him couldn’t bear the idea of him leaving.

            “No. I should go.” Damon stood on legs that were far more stable then they had been. “I’ll catch you later.”

            Damon didn’t look back.

 

 

            “I’m sorry.” Damon placed his hand on Alaric’s gravestone, the thing cold beneath his touch. “This whole damn thing is my fault. If I’d turned you, or stayed with you or fuck, something.”

            There was an entire land of ‘what might have been’ that Damon didn’t want to think about. His life and his bullshit had destroyed Alaric. That much Damon was  certain about.

            “I should have stayed with you that night. Hell, I wanted to. But you know me. Destroyer of anything I care about.” Damon threw his arms up.

             There wasn’t any point. There was Elena to think of. There was always Elena. And Stefan. Alaric was gone and with him any other future for Damon that didn’t involve sitting around in Mystic Falls in love with someone he couldn’t have. His happiness had been stolen.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. If you want to send me fic requests my inbox is always open, and I've got my tumblr of course: http://namingthingsisdumb.tumblr.com/


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